As consumers are becoming more environmentally conscientious, they are turning more and more to alternative energy sources. One such alternative energy source is rechargeable batteries, such as lithium ion batteries for example. Conventional rechargeable batteries are deployed primarily in low power electronic devices (e.g., cameras, cell phones, and audio players), and are ill-suited in many regards for high power applications.
One of the reasons for this is that individual rechargeable batteries typically deliver only a modest amount of power, which is insufficient for high power applications. In addition, if one were to try to assemble a large number of rechargeable batteries together to provide a high power signal; due to the small internal resistance of the batteries, any imbalance between the voltages of the individual batteries can cause large current spikes that can damage the batteries or the devices they are to power. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides improved techniques for mobile power systems that make use of rechargeable batteries and which are well-suited for high power applications.